If you have little kids who sometimes take pain or fever medications, you will want to check your medicine cabinet for this recall.

Three lots of Infants’ Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension have been recalled because the concentration in the bottle might be higher than they it is supposed to be.

What does that mean?

Although they are supposed to be at a 50mg per 1.25ml concentration, if it is indeed higher, then if you gave your child 1.25ml, they might get more than just 50mg.

“To date, Tris Pharma, Inc. has not received any reports of adverse events related to the lots of product that are the subject of this recall.”

How much more? We don’t know, since we don’t know what the “potentially” higher concentration might be.

Infants’ Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension Recall

Fortunately, the recall is limited to just 3 lots of Infants’ Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension that were made by Tris Pharma, Inc. and sold under the Equate, CVS Health, and Family Wellness brands and sold at Wal-Mart, CVS, and Family Dollar stores.

Do you have any recalled Ibuprofen? Check your lot numbers!

If you have the recalled Ibuprofen, don’t use it. Contact Tris Pharma for a refund.

And seek medical attention if you think your child got too much Ibuprofen and is having any symptoms, especially nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, or more rarely, diarrhea.

Fortunately, getting extra Ibuprofen is not usually as dangerous as getting extra Acetaminophen.

Although, of course, neither is good! Be careful when dosing your kids and be sure they need it first.

Oh, and yes, at least in this case, store brand Ibuprofen at Family Dollar and Wal-Mart is the same as store brand Ibuprofen at CVS…

Like this:

Breaking news – In addition to some new outbreaks, some popular foods have recently been recalled because of concern for Salmonella contamination, including four varieties of Goldfish crackers from Pepperidge Farms and many types of Ritz Cracker Sandwiches and Ritz Bits.

It is not unusual for a food to get recalled.

Many have to do with undeclared eggs, gluten, peanut, or milk, things that can trigger food allergies, but some are because of potential bacterial contamination.

“When two or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink, the event is called a foodborne disease outbreak.”

CDC on Reports of Selected Salmonella Outbreak Investigations

And some lead to outbreaks that get people sick.

In fact, since 2006, there have been between four and fourteen multistate foodborne outbreaks each year, involving everything from ground beef and cantaloupes to sprouts and peanut butter.

The Latest Foodborne Disease Outbreaks

Do you remember hearing about any of these outbreaks?

Unfortunately, many people don’t know about these recalls and outbreaks until it is too late – when they are or someone they know gets sick.

That’s why it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest food recalls and outbreaks, including:

an ongoingSalmonella outbreak that has been linked to raw turkey products that has gotten 90 people sick in 26 states

an ongoingVibrio parahaemolyticus outbreak that has been linked to fresh crab meat from Venezuala that has gotten 12 people sick in 4 states

a resolved Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to recalled shell eggs from Rose Acre Farms’ Hyde County farm of Seymour, Indiana and has gotten at least 45 people sick in 10 states. Over 200 million eggs are being recalled that were sold in restaurants and stores (Target, Food Lion, and Walmart) in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

a resolved E.coi 0157:H7 outbreak that has been linked to romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region and has gotten at least 210 people sick in 36 states, including 5 deaths. Although there has been no official recall, we have been warned to not buy or eat romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region (it is no longer being sold, but some product may still be in homes) or if you don’t know where it is from.

a resolved Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to recalled bulk packages of International Harvest, Inc. brand Go Smiles Dried Coconut Raw that has gotten 134 people sick in 8 states

If your child is sick and has eaten any of the foods listed in an ongoing outbreak, be sure to call your pediatrician or seek medical attention.

How can you avoid these outbreaks?

“Since 1996, there have been at least 30 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and lightly cooked sprouts. Most of these outbreaks were caused by Salmonella and E. coli.”

Sprouts: What You Should Know

Although proper cooking and food handling can help keep your family from getting sick in some cases with these recalled foods, it likely won’t with others, such as when fruits and vegetables, that you eat raw, are contaminated with bacteria.

Got Salmonella? You might, if you eat these recalled eggs.

That’s why you have to be aware of food recalls and be sure that you don’t eat foods that have been recalled, especially if anyone in your family is considered to be at high risk to get sick (younger children, anyone with a chronic illness, anyone who is pregnant, etc.). Many experts suggest avoiding those foods that are at high risk of contamination for high risk people, including raw sprouts, uncooked and undercooked beef, pork, and poultry, eggs that aren’t pasteurized, and of course, raw milk.

Also be sure to seek quick medical attention if you have eaten them and get sick (diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever, etc.).

What to Know About Food Recalls and Foodborne Outbreaks

It is important to be aware of food recalls and foodborne disease outbreaks, whether they are caused by Salmonella, E. coli, or Listeria, so that you can take steps to avoid those foods and keep your family from getting sick.

There is no safe food when it comes to food poisoning. Eggs, fruits, meats, vegetables and even organic sprouts can all become contaminated.

That makes it important to learn how to keep your food safe.

Although many things are being done to reduce contamination before food gets to us, it is just as important to prepare, cook and store food properly so that our kids don’t get sick.

Food Safety Numbers

There are some numbers related to food safety that you might be all too familiar with – about 48 million people get sick from food poisoning each year, sending 100,000 people to the hospital, and causing about 3,000 deaths

Reducing food poisoning is a “winnable battle” though, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But of course, safe food doesn’t just happen. It takes a little work, starting with understanding some of the other numbers associated with food safety, such as:

40˚F – the temperature to set your refrigerator (between 40˚F and 32˚F)

140˚F – the temperature you should keep food after cooking

145˚F – the minimum internal temperature to cook pork, fresh ham, steaks, roasts, chops and other whole meats (cook to the right temperature)

160˚F – the minimum internal temperature to cook egg dishes and ground meat (cook to the right temperature)

165˚F – the minimum internal temperature to cook poultry and reheat leftovers (cook to the right temperature)

3 minutes – the amount of “rest time” you should wait to make sure harmful germs are killed after cooking food, which is especially important after cooking steaks, roasts, chops, fresh pork and fresh ham. Don’t just heat and eat your food.

2 hours – the maximum about of time that perishable food should be left out before you put it in the refrigerator

90˚F – the outside temperature that should alert you that you need to refrigerate perishable food after just one hour, instead of the usual two hours

20 seconds – how long you should wash your hands before, during and after preparing food and before eating.

4 hours – the amount of time that a refrigerator will usually keep food cold if the power goes out and the refrigerator door is not opened. After that time, throw out perishable food that has been above 40˚F for two hours or more.

3 to 4 days – how long most leftovers can be safely stored in the refrigerator

15 to 20 – the number of Salmonella cells in undercooked food that can cause food poisoning

Less than 5 minutes – how long it takes to report a case of food poisoning to your local health department so that you can help to prevent a larger outbreak.

How can you tell the internal temperature of foods that you are cooking? Use a food thermometer, as you can’t tell when foods are safely cooked by simply looking at them.

And be on the alert for food recalls, to make sure that you don’t have contaminated foods in your home.

What To Know About Keeping Food Safe

Do all of these numbers sound too hard to do or keep up with, especially when you are trying to have fun at a cook out or family dinner?

Remember, it is better than the alternative, 2 to 10 days of vomiting and diarrhea because your family developed symptoms of food poisoning…